All this time folks I have been following standard routines for dvd rips with my audio being downsampled from 48 to 41Khz as per standard vcd/svcd creation, and had noticed an irritating metallic sound.... I've just checked if my player handles 48khz (manual wasn't clear) tried it and it blew my socks off. Fantastic!! The great pity is that I have approx 40 vcd (backups now with inferior sound quality).

Moral of the story, don't assume you have to use the 41 Khz standard, check your manuals you could be in for a pleasant surprise. Btw I had to swich off standard compliance in Nero when I was prompted.